{"id":1039,"date":"2026-05-31T18:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2026-05-31T18:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:03:13","slug":"the-paragon-restaurant-despite-a-big-menu-keeps-things-simple-greeley-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039","title":{"rendered":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

Greeley Gems is a weekly feature showcasing the city\u2019s businesses and nonprofits. If you have a business or nonprofit you\u2019d like to be featured, email Tribune entertainment reporter Chris Bolin at cbolin@greeleytribune.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Diana DeGette has served 15 terms in Congress, but has she been effective? Denver voters will decide in primary.<\/a><\/p>\n

George Gatsiopoulos is no stranger to the restaurant industry. After coming over from Greece at 13, he soon got his first restaurant job. He\u2019s since worked in several restaurants and owned several more \u2014 including the Country Inn, The Ranch and The Steakhouse (aptly named) \u2014 all in Greeley.<\/p>\n

But the first one he opened, The Paragon, is still the one he spends his days at. After 55 years in business, Gatsiopoulos recently sat down with the Tribune to discuss the keys to staying in business through six decades and 10 different presidents.<\/p>\n

How did The Paragon get its start?<\/h4>\n

This location started in 1971, and it has been The Paragon ever since. It used to be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it used to be a completely Greek restaurant. My cousin came from Chicago, and he was a chef. And he, my father and myself were all cooking in the same location. I don\u2019t remember the year \u2014 sometime in the late \u201990s \u2014 my cousin went back to Chicago, and I got hurt and couldn\u2019t find another cook, so we closed down dinners. We were seven days a week until COVID hit, and we\u2019ve been five days a week ever since.<\/p>\n

What does The Paragon do, and what sets your business apart?<\/h4>\n

We have gyro sandwiches, and once in a while we\u2019ll bring in something Greek \u2014 but not often enough. Our menu used to be huge \u2014 it was seven, eight, even 10 pages. Dinner was a couple pages. Lunch was a couple pages. It was a lot of stuff. But we never had to teach people because we did all the cooking. Now, the menu is smaller and more traditional breakfast and lunch.<\/p>\n

What was a significant moment or event for the business?<\/h4>\n

One day, a gentleman came in and said, \u201cHow are you guys cooking all this food? Haven\u2019t you ever heard, KISS? Keep it simple, stupid. But every day there is something new.\u201d Yesterday, I was talking to a young man, and he said, \u201cI think my dad introduced me to you in here when I was 8 years old.\u201d And now he\u2019s retired. I\u2019ve had people that started working for me when they were 14, and now they\u2019re kids are working for me. It\u2019s a wonderful system. I love the business, and I love the public, which is my downfall, because there were many years I should have quit the business and went and got a job. I would have made more money. But it\u2019s a love affair, the restaurant business is a love affair. You have to love the industry and you have to love the people. You do the best you can and hopefully it\u2019ll pay off.<\/p>\n

Read more 18 years ago, Coloradans started having fewer babies. Now it\u2019s a higher education problem.<\/a><\/p>\n

What drives your success?<\/h4>\n

The success is basically, keep it consistent. With the help, with the pricing, with the way you treat customers. We treat customers like we would treat ourselves. You watch the prices, you don\u2019t try to gouge it. If you get greedy, it will kill you. The customers are the most important part. If a customer came in, ate and is not happy \u2014 what good is a $10 bill or a $20 bill for my business if they\u2019re not happy? That $10 they spent here, they\u2019re gonna spread \u201cbad\u201d 50 times over. It\u2019s like they say: do something good, nobody hears about it. Do something bad, and everyone knows about it.<\/p>\n

What are your goals for the future?<\/h4>\n

Every day you get out of bed and you\u2019re healthy, that\u2019s the future. But we\u2019ll be here, there are no plans to keep it this many years, then sell it. I\u2019ve been here 55 years. If I wanted to sell it, I\u2019m sure I could have. At some point, it will end up in somebody else\u2019s hands, and it would be nice if it could continue on. But for now, my wife and I, we will run it for as long as we still enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Paragon<\/h3>\n

The Paragon, 2725 W. 10th St., is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call at 970-356-8400 or find the restaurant on Facebook at TinyUrl.com\/TheParagonRestaurant.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox. <\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Denver International Airport ground stop lifted, hundreds of flights delayed by storms<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owner George Gatsiopoulos opened the restaurant in 1971, and throughout several other business ventures, it is the one still kicking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-restaurants-food-and-drink","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Owner George Gatsiopoulos opened the restaurant in 1971, and throughout several other business ventures, it is the one still kicking.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039\"},\"wordCount\":827,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Restaurants, Food and Drink\",\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039\",\"name\":\"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1039#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"Owner George Gatsiopoulos opened the restaurant in 1971, and throughout several other business ventures, it is the one still kicking.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems","datePublished":"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039"},"wordCount":827,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp","articleSection":["News","Restaurants, Food and Drink","Things To Do"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039","name":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-31T18:03:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b2f34f564faa230070146fa58a04dc18.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1039#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Paragon Restaurant, despite a big menu, keeps things simple: Greeley Gems"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}